


Crimson Web

by TiBun



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Angst, Depression, Drama, Gift Fic, Lemon, M/M, Rare Pairings, Tragedy, bottom Grell
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-10
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-24 11:21:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiBun/pseuds/TiBun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>William and Grell's relationship has been rocky for quite a wile; thanks to Grell's flirtations with Sebastian and William's workaholic tendencies. When William takes it too far in yelling at his lover, Grell flees, only to find himself trapped in a spider's web. Can William save his love, or is Grell doomed to be the spider's meal?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters, only explore the possibilities.
> 
> Special thanks to Ninluvs-shm (DA) for keeping me on track with this one.

Grell stood awkwardly in front of William's orderly desk, shifting his weight from one leg to the other, letting his hip lean to the side flamboyantly. He bit his lip lightly so as his teeth wouldn't draw blood as his green eyes cast downwards to gaze almost shyly down at the shiny toes of his heeled shoes.

The supervisor studied his coworker with a cold gaze, "You boycotted your paperwork today in order to go see that demon again." He accused in a matter-of-fact tone, his emotions well hidden as usual.

Grell looked up, "Oh~ _That's_ what this is about? I was afraid that I somehow broke another silly little rule without knowing about it~" he giggled, wiggling his hips, "Yes, I did go see dearest Sebas-chan today. But I hardly think it's fair to be accused of ignoring my paperwork! I got most of it done before you called me up here, and I would have actually gotten it done on time today to if you hadn't!"

"That is not the point! You have no reason to be running off after anyone like you do. Especially that filthy _demon_." The man stood up and walked around his desk, flipping the lock on his door before he approached the redhead and reached out, caressing his cheek before he ran his fingers up into crimson threads and roughly grabbing hold, forcing the smaller reaper to step in closer to him and tilting his head up to look at him, "You belong to me, Grell." He hissed in warning.

Grell's eyes widened in a mix of excitement and fear. His lips twitching upwards slightly. He loved how his lover could get so sadistic at times; but he never showed that side of him at work; he would always wait until they were both home. "Getting a bit jealous are we, Darling?" he asked, pressing himself up flush against William's suit-clad body.

"It's much more than jealousy, you made a commitment to me. Yet you always chase after other men and hang off them! Even in front of me. What if one of these days one of those fiends you lust after actually takes you seriously? You belong to me and no one else—let alone a hell-spawn! They are not to touch you."

"Well what do you expect me to do?!" Grell demanded, swatting William's hand away and stepping back to glare at the man, "You won't let me hang off you in public. Hell, you hardly let me do so at home! We are supposed to be lovers, yet you force me to keep it a secret! You are ashamed of me, just admit it! I love you more than anything, Will, but as much as I love how cold you can be, I need warmth too! I need affection, and by Charon's Oar! I need you to be able to admit you love me! I'm starting to think you just use me!" he yelled, anger overtaking him, "You haven't even said you love me in what? Seven years? Eight?"

"Why should I when you run around like a little whore?" William snapped back before he could think.

William watched as the redhead's features faded from anger to hurt within seconds of the piercing words; his eyes widening and tearing up instantly, and his mouth hanging open slightly as if trying to let out words that just couldn't reach his tongue as his throat choked up. Grell finally closed his mouth and turned away from William, running to the door and tugged at it before remembering it was locked. He unlocked it with shaking fingers before running out and down the hall.

Ignoring the looks and comments from his coworkers, the red reaper ran through the dispatch building and out the doors, his glove-clad hand lifting to wipe the tears from his cheeks as his feet carried him through the gates into the human realm. He turned down an all too familiar street that would carry him to the Phantomhive manor before slowing to a stop, his heels clicking softly on the cobblestone road.

No, no it wouldn't do to run looking to take it out on Sebastian Michaelis. William would look for him there first and then he'd be seeing it as proof that Grell was a whore. And he wasn't! He may be a flirt; but he never once slept with anyone other than the cold supervisor since they had finally gotten together.

How dare he? How dare William think so lowly of him! The redhead growled and kicked a crate of apples, sending the green fruit rolling and bouncing along the street. Where to go? Some place unexpected; some place to truly be alone and think…maybe he was better off away from William? It was the first time he had ever had such thoughts. But he was so in love with the man…blindly so. Grell frowned, fighting back a sob and turning down another road, picking up his run once more to venture into new territory. Not paying attention to where he was going.

His vision so distorted by tears, the red reaper hardly noticed when he left London's city limit and crossed into a privet wood. His surroundings only catching his attention when a raised root caught his foot, sending him spiraling to the ground.

Weakly; Grell pushed himself up into a sitting position, his make-up stained tears mixing with dirt on his cheeks as he hugged his knees to his chest, finally weeping openly.

The root had done its job perfectly, slowing the intruder down enough to make him stop. Soft footsteps padded the fallen leaves on the ground as the Trancy household's head butler walked through the forest towards the trespassing reaper. Claude tugged on his glove tighter as he stopped a small distance away to survey the distressed red-head. "Is there a reason you have come here?" he drawled boredly, half hoping that the reaper had come for a fight, but it was obvious that was not the case.

The red reaper stiffened, his nose catching the scent of a demon, how had he not noticed it before? Pushing himself to his feet, he attempted to dry his tears, only to smear the dirt across his cheeks more. He turned and glared at the demon, his green eyes taking in the demon's form. He was slightly familiar, "Does it matter if I have a reason to be here or not?" he snapped.

"It matters to me. You are trespassing on private property, Reaper." the spider replied coldly, eyes sweeping over his poor excuse of an impression. "You have but one warning to leave at once."

"Privet property?" Grell sneered, "No such thing for a reaper. We have access to any area humans can be on earth." He said, crossing his arms, "But should I ever for what-ever reason find myself in Hell, I'll remember your warning."

The butler narrowed his eyes and took a few steps closer. "Be careful what you wish for, for I can send you straight to Hell's Pit sooner than you expect." He stopped, then took another quick step before darting rapidly to slide up behind the Reaper, three gold blades held to his throat as he gripped his red hair to force his head back. "You had one warning."

"Tch, just because you are handsome, doesn't give you the right to treat me so roughly!" Grell hissed, his left hand clenching as he summoned his scythe to it, swinging the spiked blade into the demon's leg, even though it wasn't turned on.

Claude pulled away quickly to avoid the chainsaw's blade, instantly flinging a few knives at the Reaper's shoulder either by distraction or having one stick. "My looks have nothing to do with how I treat scum like you."

Grell flinched in pain as the knifes dug deep into his shoulder, " _You_ think that _I_ am scum?" he hissed, "Obviously you are not the brightest demon around. My dear Sebas-chan at least knows how to treat a lady!" he said, yanking the golden silverware from his shoulder and turning on his scythe, charging at the demon.

"'Sebas-chan'?" the butler asked curiously, standing his ground as the Reaper ran at him. "You can't mean that crow? What would he know?" he smirked ever so slightly, now remembering being told about this certain Reaper. "I see now...a broken heart, is it?" He jumped up as the Reaper swung down, landing back behind him with more blades at the ready, this time coming up to dig one roughly into his back while holding the rest to his throat, making sure he couldn't move to attack. "Is that what the tears are for, hmm?"

"They are none of your concern, demon! They certainly aren't for you in any case!" The redhead gasped, stilling at the feeling of cold metal digging deep into his back; ignoring the bolts of pain that the knife caused each time the demon's muscles twitched or his own body shifted slightly.

"Then merely my own curiosity." His smirk grew, now thoroughly entertained that he had the trapped reaper. He leaned in while tightening his hold on the blades, digging them into the Reaper ever so slightly. "Did the crow cause such a heartbreak...or perhaps someone who you don't deserve?" he whispered into his ear, purposely feathering his lips along the edge of it.

An unbearably cold, yet pleasurable shiver assaulted Grell's body at the demon's words, and he felt fresh tears well up in his eyes once more. "Don't," he spat, risking himself more injury by moving and twisting himself out of the spider's arms, causing a cry of pain and anger to interrupt his words momentarily. "…talk about things you know nothing about!" he reached back, pressing a gloved hand to the gash in his lower back as his other arm swung his humming chainsaw up at the demon.

Claude dropped the knife that had been avoided by the Reaper to grab Grell's wrist, stopping the blade from making contact before twisting his wrist sharply to force him to drop his weapon. "I don't need to know about anything to the fullest to know when agony and grief is involved, Reaper…" he muttered, yellow eyes locking on the green ones. "I can smell it on you."

"Un-hand me!" The redhead screeched, kicking the sharp heel of his shoe into the demon's leg and yanking his hand back at the same time out of a small form of panic. He managed to break free, twisting his wrist painfully, but loosing his balance, falling back against a tree, narrowly missing being impaled by a low hanging broken branch that caught the delicate chain of beads that hung from his glasses, and snapped it as the impact of the tree trunk knocked the red frames from his face.

Grell's now blind eyes widened as he felt his glasses bounce off his knee on their way to the ground, and desperately, he fell to his knees, his hands spread wide as they felt around the blurry ground covered in dead leaves and dirt in search for them. Hoping to find them before Claude made his next move.

He shifted his position and heard a soft crack. He found them. With shaking hands he reached under his knee and plucked the broken frames from the dirt, holding them up. The glass was cracked and they hung barely together until they finally gave out, falling into two halves.

A soft chuckle broke the silence as Claude walked up behind the blinded Reaper, grabbing a fist-full of hair to drag him back up onto his feet. "Oh dear, did you lose something important?" he teased, reaching up to pull off his own glasses and slip them into his breast pocket, now smirking wickedly at the red-head in his grasp. "No matter, I will finish you off all the same."

"It's all your fault!" Grell cried out, too upset to care much about his appearance or reputation. His lover thought he was a whore, he was blind, and he was defenseless. The sudden feeling of helplessness overwhelming him now that he realized his situation. His scythe was a laying upon the ground somewhere, his glasses gone; and he was alone. William, if he even cared, wouldn't think to look for him here. "If you hadn't—you stupid filthy demon!" he sobbed, beating and clawing at the spider demon, trying to get him to let go of his hair so he could run.

"Am I the filthy one? Are you to say that you being covered it dirt and in a wreck of tears and muck makes you more 'clean' than I?" He tugged hard on his hair again before shoving him up against the tree, leaning up against him to keep him pinned as he leaned in to whisper in his ear again, "If that is the case, _you_ are the fool here."

"Any man who would treat a lady in such a way is the very definition of filth! I have not given you permission to lay a finger on me!" causing himself a fresh wave of tears, he turned his head, leaning in, causing his hair to be pulled more as he dug his shark-like teeth deep into the demon's shoulder. Blood quickly flooding his mouth, but he held on tight.

"Gah! You nasty thing..." he growled, his own fangs lengthening as his eyes slipped into the angry shimmer. The demon drew out another knife into his hand, stabbing it into the red Reaper's shoulder.

"Ah!" Grell yelped, releasing Claude, taking the opportunity to spit the demonic blood out of his mouth. It was only after he did so when he realized the lovely red liquid would look much better staining the demon's skin rather than the earth. "Stop stabbing me and let me go!" he demanded angrily, "'less I paint you red!"

Claude hissed impatiently at Grell before just fixing him with a glare, releasing his grasp on the knife though keeping the Reaper pinned beneath him. "The only thing I shall be painted with is _your_ blood, Reaper, lady or not...which you certainly are not!" He shifted his leg to press his knee up hard between the Reaper's legs to rub mercilessly at the bulge in his groin. "You may believe you are, but your antics and body argue otherwise..."

"Ha! You already are painted with your own blood. I'd reconsider that threat if I were you." Grell said, lifting a hand and sliding it up the butler's chest to his bitten shoulder, pressing his fingers hard against the bleeding wound, "And just because I happen to be in a male body does _not_ mean I am any less of a lady!" he snapped venomously.

He narrowed his eyes at the Reaper. "Your actions are far from lady-like. The crow is more of a woman than you could ever be." His eye twitched slightly from feeling the other's fingers pushing more blood out from his bite wound, glancing at his shoulder to watch his coat slowly soak through with his own blood. "You forget who has you pinned and could snap your neck without hesitation." He nudged his knee up into his groin again, leaning in closer. "…Or I could do other things to prove my point to you."

"I don't need to act lady-like around demon scourge who has no appreciation of a lovely lady! Attacking a maiden laden with tears? Disgraceful!" Grell insisted, shivering. A warning going off in the back of his mind.

"This 'maiden' talk of yours is testing my patience." he murmured under his breath, leaning closer still until they were nearly nose to nose. "And seeing as strong as your stubborn wall is, allow me to prove my point. Treat you like a lady? Fine...I will show you what my kind do to a 'lovely lady'." He tugged on his hair to force his head to the side while lowering his head down to latch onto his neck, but not piercing the skin. Instead, he drew a bit of the Reaper's pale flesh into his mouth to nip and suck at before moving up to assault his ear by tugging and teasing at it with his tongue, fingers nearly ripping off the buttons of his vest and shirt to lay him bare and exposed.

"Ah! St-stop!" he begged, grabbing the demon's shoulders and trying to push him away as his body began to respond to the pleasurable shivers racking through him. "I told you to let me go!" his voice trembled, betraying the fear he was starting to feel take root.

The demon slammed him back roughly against the tree to keep him still as he continued to tear away his clothing, finally exposing the red-head's pale torso to him in which he began to nip and tease at. While keeping his tongue busy, he lowered his free hand down to tug open the Reaper's belt and pants until his partially-stiffened arousal was free, glancing up with a smirk before beginning to stroke and rub roughly at the organ.

The reaper felt a little dazed and it took a moment after he had been slammed against the tree for him to resume his struggling, "Stop! Stop it! Can't you bloody hear me? Get your hands _off_ me!"

The demon growled and leaned up to press his lips hard to the other's, silencing him as he continued to work on the Reaper's length, occasionally pressing his own hips up against him and grinding. He tilted his head as he forced the kiss onto Grell, not taking his chances on losing his tongue at the moment.

"Mmm!" Grell protested, trying without success to turn away from the unwanted kiss, He reached up, clawing at the demon's hands, his tears trailing down his cheeks no longer mixing with dirt, but leaving behind clear trails on the pale skin.

Claude continued on with his torture until satisfied with how stiff Grell had become and drew his hand away to force down his pants until they dropped to his ankles. He then pulled away enough to violently force the Reaper around so he was facing the tree, twisting his fingers around in the red locks so he could use it to cover Grell's mouth to keep him silent as he tugged open his own pants to free himself. The demon brought his free hand up to tug off his glove so to push a couple fingers into the Reaper's entrance, stretching him only enough so he could push his tip and length into his insanely-tight body, making him grunt in slight discomfort.

_No, please, not there, please!_

Grell whimpered, his begging muffled to incomprehensible sounds as he was gagged by his own hair. His body going stiff. He knew it only added to his own pain, but he was not about to just let the demon do what he wanted. Unfortunately, his stubborn action caused the pain to overwhelm whatever pleasure should have come with Claude's penetrating organ and his whimpers and sobs turned into a muffled scream.

He hissed quietly as the other squeezed around him, tightening his grip on him as he shoved himself entirely in before starting with a quick thrust. The demon closed his eyes and pressed closer to drive himself deeper, the pain from the tight fit melting into the bliss he wanted, making him growl lustfully.

More screams were drawn from the redhead, his entire body trembling feebly. Horrified that his body was beginning to react favorably to the demon, wanting to lean back into Claude. But thoughts of William flashed through his mind, making his heart ach and giving him strength enough to not let his body act on his lust. But he couldn't stop his screams from fading down into whimpers and moans when the demon moved inside him.

A slight shiver rippled through the demon's body as he roughened his movements into the redhead, lowering his hand down around him to resume his stroking on the other's hard shaft. His smirk returned into a half grin at hearing the other's pleasurable noises, leaning in further until his chest was pressed up against the Reaper's back, giving him full access to the back of his neck as he slowly ran the tip of his tongue up it and slide his way up to his ear.

"Mnmm!" Grell half-protested, half-moaned, his fingers digging painfully into the rough bark of the tree he was pressed against, his fingertips starting to bleed from the action. This was wrong, so wrong. Not only was this butler not William, but he wasn't even one of the men he had ever flirted with. He just couldn't figure out how it had come to this.

The spider's strokes quickened as did his own thrusts, forcing himself in deeper even as he felt himself nearing that pleasurable release. He growled again and tilted his head to nip at the Reaper's ear and tugged, groaning quietly from a couple of perfectly-aimed thrusts that hit him just right.

"M-MM!" the red reaper's muffled gasps grew more frequent as his body begged for release. And he fought it, not wanting to give the demon that satisfaction…but even as his mind made itself up not to, his body suddenly twitched violently, the pressure becoming too much, and his seed shooting out onto the tree trunk with another muffled cry.

The spider demon stopped his stroking when feeling the other's inevitable release and his body tighten impossibly more around him, causing him to moan airily and pull out, just beginning to leak from being on the near edge of release. He stepped back slightly while stroking himself to his own release, covering the Reaper's lower back in a sticky mess. Humiliation...something he always took pride in giving to those who seemed to beg for it. Another smirk tugged at his lips as he leaned back into Grell to suddenly force his length back into him, having not completely emptied and finished off with a hard thrust to empty out inside him, chuckling.

Relief washed over Grell when he felt the demon pull out, only to give another strangled cry into his hair when the butler thrust himself back in. He let himself go limp, held up between his attacker and the tree, more sobs shaking from him. It was cruel; too cruel.

Once completely satisfied, the butler pulled back out for good and lowered his hand down from the mess of tangled red hair. He pulled out his handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands after putting himself away, continuing to smirk evilly at the Reaper before him. "I must say, you certainly do sound like a woman when I pleasure you just right. Now that you have suffered the consequences of intruding on my master's property, I hope you don't attempt it again unless with a very good reason…"

Grell fell to his hands and knees, his tongue pushing his hair from his mouth and gasping for air to try and settle his sobbing a bit before he spoke, his gaze never leaving the ground, "…H-how dare you…" he paused to choke back another sob, "T-Touch me again and I-I'll kill you."

"I would like to see you try." Claude teased, walking over to crouch beside him and run his fingers in a caressing manner over the back of the Reaper's neck. A distinct outline of a spider's web spreading out and seeming to embed itself into the pale flesh. "Don't deny that you enjoyed my touch, Reaper."

The reaper shivered in disgust from the touch, too weak to stop the demon from it. "D-don't act like you're all that great. You aren't." he said, unaware of the thin silvery lines weaving themselves into his skin, glowing slightly before setting into his neck like a tattoo hidden behind his long red tresses.

The demon smirked and nipped at his ear again playfully. "Your moans told me otherwise." He straightened up again without offering help to Grell, tugging his glove back on as he turned back towards the direction of the manor. "Happy hunting, 'miss' Reaper."

Grell stayed at the base of the tree, shivering as his exposed body cooled and became aware of the cold evening air. He then crawled around, his hands in search of his torn clothes, putting each article of clothing on as he found them. Then he pocketed his broken glasses and spent a good amount of time stumbling around in search for his chainsaw. Once his fingers located it and he dismissed it, he pushed himself to his feet, stumbling from tree to tree in the direction, he hoped, of London.

It was well past midnight before the warn and blind reaper managed to find his way home to the small apartment that he shared with William. He fished out his key and scuffed up the door with it until he was finally able to locate the key hole and open the door. The apartment was dark and he was unsure as to if William was asleep already, or was still at work. But the only thing that mattered to him was that he get cleaned. Kicking off his shoes, he headed straight for the bathroom, tearing off his already ruined clothes and throwing them in a heap on the floor before climbing into the tub before turning on the water to the hottest he could stand and grabbing the soap, scrubbing every inch of his body raw as the tub filled up around him.

The hot water had gone cold before he finished scrubbing himself and climbed out, grabbing the first aid kit to wrap his broken wrist so it would heal correctly, and bandage his stab wounds before finding his night gown where he had left it that morning, he pulled it on and stumbled out of the bathroom, grabbing an extra blanket from a closet and collapsing onto the couch, curling up into a ball as he shivered and cried himself to a light, fitful sleep.

Another hour passed before William returned to their shared apartment, noticing Grell's shoes strewn in the doorway. He sighed and set them neatly to the side, straightening up again to look around for his upset lover. It didn't take him long to find him curled up on the couch, looking upset still even as he slept. Will frowned and set his bag down before sitting carefully on the arm of the couch, lightly brushing a few locks of red out of Grell's face as he slept. He knew he had pushed it too far earlier by calling Grell a 'whore', but his patience was wearing thin from the Reaper's antics. Grell _did_ belong to him and only him...he only wished Grell would understand that. He sighed and got up again to get cleaned up for bed, blinking in surprise at more of the mess Grell left, stopping to pick up his tattered clothes. Something didn't seem right; some of the buttons were missing as though they were ripped off and...was that blood? "…Grell...?"

Distantly, Grell could hear the sound of the door opening and closing, and he felt the familiar gentle touch of his lover's fingers, but his body wouldn't move, too exhausted to awaken. But his mind at least had easily woken up. His thoughts had never really settled as he slept lightly, too distraught and paranoid.

But when he heard William's voice say his name softly from another room; probably the bathroom, he managed to force himself up to his feet again. He staggered through the dark towards the bathroom once more, leaning against the doorframe, trembling fingers clinging to the wood. The pose made him look shy or insecure, where he'd normally use the open door to lean against in a seductive manner. He watched William's blurry figure holding his torn clothing and studying it for a moment, "W-Will…" he muttered in a shaky voice.

Will looked around, seeing Grell in the doorway. Things definitely were not right, and he wanted answers. "…What have you been doing..?" He held up the shirt to show the tear in the side and blood that stained around it. "Is this…yours...? What did you get yourself into after you left?"

The redhead nodded slowly, "It…it is mostly mine…" he admitted, taking in another shaky breath, his sore fingers tightening on the doorframe, "I…I had just wanted to be alone…that's all, I swear!"

"Mostly?! Grell...what did you do?" He felt he needed to ask, seeing that his lover had a tendency to pick fights with people when upset to blow off steam. Then a thought crossed his mind and he looked back down at the shirt. "…This is...made from a knife. Don't tell me you went back after that damned Phantomhive's pet again..!"

" _I_ didn't do anything! And no I did not go to see Sebastian! I told you I wanted to be alone! I was being a good girl! Just….Just forget it! I'm going back to bed. And _YOU_ get the couch this time!" Grell snapped, turning to head to the bedroom, and using the wall as both support and a guide in the dark.

Will's eyebrow twitched in irritation, draping the tattered clothes over his arm as he walked after Grell and reached out to grab his arm to stop him, being gentle in case he was more injured than he feared. "Grell Sutcliff, do _not_ tell me to just 'forget it' when I'm worried about what you've gotten yourself into! You're obviously hurt and I want to know why!"

Instinctively, Grell jumped away from the touch on his arm, jerking back as if it burned, "Don't touch me!" he gasped before thinking, even though he knew it was William and not the spider demon. His green eyes holding a look of fear as he looked at William, his trembling growing more apparent.

Will blinked, lowering his hand slowly. Someone had done something to Grell, it was obvious now; never before had Grell looked so terrified at being touched. "...Grell…who hurt you?" he asked quietly.

"I…I don't know…he looked familiar but…I tried to stop it…to get away but the demon…he…" a loud sob shook from him, "My glasses broke and I couldn't reach my scythe, and…he just…" the smaller reaper hid his watery eyes behind his hands.

"Demon?" William let the clothes slide off of his arm to approach his distraught lover, carefully sliding his hands over his arms reassuringly in case he would be startled again. "What did he look like?" He had a feeling what this demon did to Grell, judging by the way he was holding himself and seeming frightened of being touched. He just wanted to find the bastard who did this and decapitate him.

"Like any other demon in his human form…but…with yellow eyes…dressed like a butler…seemed to know Sebastian…at least he talked like he did…incredibly rude…" he said slowly, not really wanting to think back to the demon's features, "…and he wore glasses…"

Will frowned and grit his teeth, having run into that demon before during a reap. "Faustus..." he growled under his breath, deciding to deal with him later. He had Grell to take care of at the moment. He nodded and reached up to run his fingers through the other's hair to push it back off his face. "Let's get you to bed so you can rest…"

Grell moved forward, hugging his lover, "I'm sorry…" he choked out, "I…I know what you meant earlier now…I never flirted with him but he still…I'll stop…"

Will held him close, pressing a kiss into his hair. "…It was a poor choice of words; what I said. I only wanted you to understand I want a committed relationship." he sighed, stroking his cheek as he pulled back slightly to look at him. "And he's still a demon…flirting or not would provoke them…but I'm glad he left you alive to return home…"

"B-but I am committed to you…I just…You've been so distant lately…I was trying to get your attention back…" The redhead admitted into William's shoulder, "You're the only one I have ever wanted to—to touch me…"

"…You never lost my attention, Grell..." he rested his head down against the other's, "You know how serious I take my work." He thought back on their argument earlier, remembering everything that Grell had pointed out. "...I love you, Grell..." he whispered, hugging him slightly tighter, "I always have even if I don't say it."

"…I'd still like to hear it more often…maybe a smile or two at work?" he asked.

"I can't promise a smile, but I will see what I can do…" he sighed, kissing his head again, guiding him into the bedroom and tucking him in, leaving just long enough to change into his own pajamas and then slowly slipping into the bed and pulling the smaller reaper to his chest.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

Grell sighed and rubbed the back of his neck as he approached the door to his and William's apartment. His new red glasses sitting on his nose. It had been a few days since his run-in with the Trancy Demon, and he was back into his normal routine. William had given him a few days off, knowing the redhead needed time to readjust to life again, but as soon as William brought home Grell's replacement glasses, Grell insisted upon returning to work, wanting something to distract his mind from the demon.

The incident had, of course, been kept a secret between he and William, but their coworkers had seemed to know something was going on after Grell's sudden disappearance from work over a few days, and upon his return, the normally fiery and flirtatious reaper seemed lost in thought and kept to himself, working obediently and not even launching himself at William even once during the long work day.

Again William found himself with more work than he would like, and though he had wanted to walk Grell home and stay with him all night, he let the red reaper leave work alone.

Grell unlocked the door and stepped in, slipping off his shoes and hanging his red jacket on the coat rack by the door. His energy, ever since the evening he had been forced to spend with the spider demon, was sluggish, and he didn't feel much like doing anything, even his favorite hobbies such as preparing dinner for William. He was also still jumpy if William touched him too fast or when it was unexpected, so he found himself distancing himself from not only his lover, but everyone else as well.

He closed the door and walked towards the kitchen to force himself to make something small for dinner.

Far off in the Trancy manor, Claude had just finished putting his master to sleep. He quietly strolled down the dark hallway with the candlabra in hand before pausing, looking down at his hand curiously. He set down the candles before tugging off his glove, small marks of red webs formed along his finger tips, having lingered where the demon left his final mark on the Reaper. A small smirk tugged on his lips and he brought up his hand to lightly caress the marks with his tongue, causing them to glow slightly in reaction as he closed his eyes.

"Ah!" Startled by a sudden pleasurable burning sensation on the back of his neck, Grell dropped the knife he had been using to chop up some vegetables and slapped the back of his neck as if expecting someone to be there. But he felt nothing as a wave of dizziness swept over him and he moved his hands to press his face to them, willing the feeling to pass. He was paranoid. That had to be it. He was just paranoid because he was alone. He knew there was no way for Claude to get to him. He was safe in his apartment within the reaper realm after all. He would be fine…he only had to make it alone until William finally was able to come home…and it shouldn't be too long…William had said he'd only have to stay after hours for about an hour to an hour and a half…

Even with these thoughts to calm him; Grell's dizziness intensified and he stumbled back against a wall, leaning against it until the feeling finally passed and he slowly lowered his hands, opening his eyes again to find himself no longer in his kitchen, but in a long Hall with a deep blue walls with gold trim, large paintings on the walls between carved wooden doors and expensive statues and vases on tables. And standing right in front of him was the demon he hoped to never see again. His green eyes widened and his body seized up in fear, "Y-You…"

Claude's smirk darkened, lifting his finger slightly to press it to his own lips to motion for him to be silent. "It has been quiet a while since I've used such a leash…I'm pleased to see I still have that special touch." He chuckled quietly, suddenly fading into a blur until there was nothing, using his speed to slip in behind the Reaper and cover his mouth tightly as he held him back against his body, leaning down to whisper into his ear, "Shall we play a game to pass the night?"

The reaper struggled against the demon, "Mmmm!" he screamed in protest against the demon's hand. He lifted his hands, one tugging at Claude's arm, the other pressing red fingernails to the butler's cheek, digging in deep as he dragged them down, trying to get the demon to release him.

He chuckled at the Reaper's protests, dragging him over to the candelabra and leaning over to blow out the flames, soaking them in darkness. The butler then pulled him down the hallway, leading Grell further down and deeper into the manor until they reached the storage, completely void of anyone and solid enough to block out all noises of protests were there to be any more. He closed and bolted the door before shoving Grell up against the stone wall at the bottom of the stairs, pressing his body up against the Reaper's as he leaned in to caress his ear with his tongue. "Don't fret about this being about territory...I've marked you as such anyway." he purred against his ear.

"Get off me!" Grell gasped, trying to push the demon away. His still healing wrist sending a sharp pain up his arm. He gasped as the demon's tongue caressed along his sensitive ear , and his body immediately responded with lust, halting in his pushing to press against the demon, much to the reaper's horror, "Wh-what?"

Claude grinned, pulling back slightly to lock his gaze with Grell's. "Did I not mention I marked you _properly_...meaning any feeling of pleasure I offer, you _will_ respond to it…" he growled, rather pleased with himself. He leaned in to capture the redhead's lips in a hungry kiss, burying his fingers into his hair while a few fingers tickled playfully along the now-glowing mark on the back of his neck, grinding and rubbing his hips up slowly and teasingly against the other's.

"Mmm—n-no, you…you can't…I…I…" he protested into the kiss, even as his body continued to press against the demon, rubbing and begging for more. His hands sliding up Claude's sides and over his chest in search for buttons, despite his urge to summon his chainsaw and cut through the demon…His body wasn't his to control any longer…it was a slave to the demon's lust, ignoring his protesting mind and screaming heart. "I'm not yours!"

"For tonight you are." he mumbled against his lips, tilting his head to force his tongue past Grell's lips and into his mouth while holding the kiss deep. Fingers wandered down over Grell's side and to his hip, gripping it as he rocked against him again and again, feeling the other's hardening arousal beginning to rub roughly back against him through the fabric. Claude groaned lustfully and gripped the red locks, bringing his hand back up to begin pushing open the buttons on his vest to strip him down, knowing there was no need to be forceful this time around as he hand him in his control.

Reluctantly in his mind, but willingly in body, Grell found himself kissing back, his lips moving hungrily against Claude's lips, and his tongue sliding submissively along the long wet tongue that invaded his mouth. His hands finished pushing open buttons and they pushed Claude's tailcoat, vest, and shirt all at once from his shoulders.

The demon shrugged the last bit of his shirt off, reaching up to pull off his glasses and set them aside as well before returning to removing the last of Grell's clothing. Once they were dropped with his uniform, his fingers traced down over the Reaper's toned body to slip between them and push open the button of his pants, easing them down only enough for part of his length to show, running his nail along his showing member to tease him further.

Grell gasped into the demon's mouth, a shiver racking his body as he rolled his hips, pressing himself against the demonic hand, "D-don't you dare think I'm yours for a second. I belong to another, not you…and I'll make sure you are killed for doing this…" he hissed when the demon's lips pulled back enough for him to speak.

"I'd like to see you try while I have you collared." He chuckled darkly, capturing his lips again as he shoved his hand down into his pants to grope and stroke the Reaper's shaft, grinding his hips against both his hand and Grell's hips again.

"Mmm…" again, Grell bucked up against Claude's touch, his hands running over his bare torso, the demon's form all too obviously not William's. The reaper tried to resist the hardest he could as his fingers slid down to work open the demon's pants. Tears fell down his cheeks silently. This was far worse than the first time…trapped in a body under a spell of pure lust. His skin feeling more sensitive with each of Claude's touches. The glowing webbed mark on the back of his neck throbbing.

Claude pressed up against the Reaper's touch, shifting his hand to push down Grell's pants so they dropped around his knees, giving him free access to his hardening shaft. The demon's fingers curled around his length and stroked him awake, leaning more against him to roughen the kiss as he twisted and wrestled around along the other's tongue with his own.

The reaper let out a long moan-like whimper, thrusting himself needfully into the demon's hand, and his hands pawing at the demon's bare skin, chest, hips, abs, working their way down to the demon's member.

Claude rocked his hips slowly as he felt those fingers draw nearer to his awaiting length, pulling his own away from the other's shaft to run them up over his chest and linger near his preoccupied mouth, the webbing imbedded in them glowing brightly the closer they got to Grell's 'collar'. He broke away from the kiss and instantly pushed his marked fingers past the Reaper's lips, urging him to draw them further in so to prep for later use.

Grell adverted his eyes shamefully as he took the fingers into his mouth, his tongue sliding over each digit to coat them in a healthy layer of saliva. Wishing he could just bite them off instead…wishing he could bite and tear apart the demon's entire body.

A soft groan slipped from the spider demon, shifting his fingers slightly as they were lubricated by the other's tongue and mouth, rocking his hips again to press into the Reaper's hand that worked around him. Golden eyes watched Grell's every movement with his mouth, his free hand continuing to lightly brush up along his body in search of more spots that would trigger those lovely noises.

Grell moaned, sucking on the demon's fingers intently; even after they were coated enough for the demon's desired purpose. A purpose he knew all too well, one he wanted to avoid, to postpone. And if allowing such foreplay to extend as if they were truly lovers was the only way he could delay it, then that was what he would do. However, before it could go on for too much longer, he felt the moist fingers slide from his mouth, a thick string of saliva connecting the digits to his lips, shimmering similarly to a thread of a web.

The redhead let out a pleading whimper, willing for the spider to stop, to unravel his thread and let him go… "Why…" he gasped in a weak submissive whisper, "Why me? Why…why this?"

Claude smirked and leaned in to run his tongue along the other's lip to break the string, giving him a light peck afterwards. "Because of the attention we both equally crave...you, so torn from your 'lover', and me...well, it has been too long…" he whispered, lowering his slickened fingers down between Grell's legs and pressing up, pushing them up into him and working them around. "So I am doing us both a favor…"

"Ahh…" a shiver of pleasure racked though the reaper's body, and it took him a moment to find his words again, "Y-you don't know anything…if…If I'm...Nnghhh…torn from my darling…it's because of you doing…ah…this!" he attempted to snap, but the moans being coaxed past his lips made it seem more like just a stubborn excuse, even to himself.

"Is that so? From your tone before, I gathered that your lover angered you the same that I am filling you with hatred…but no matter…" he smirked, scissoring his fingers before pushing in a third and thrusting them up deep into the Reaper, "I will be filling you with much more than fury in a few moments…"

Grell shook his head, "No…please no…no more…Nnn~!" despite his words, he found himself leaning forward, clinging to the demon, his legs parting.

The demon pushed his fingers deeper before slipping them back out again, wrapping his arm around Grell's hips to pull him close while he leaned him back against the wall. He then lowered his other hand to pull one of the red-head's legs up to wrap around him as he positioned himself at the Reaper's worked entrance and slowly pushed himself inside, eventually wrapped once again in the familiar tight heat that Grell's excited body gave off.

A fresh wave of tears sprang to the reaper's green eyes as he felt himself, once again, stretch around the demon, physically unable to fight back. "H-heartless devil! Nnghah" he whimpered as his body betrayed him and welcomed the spider's touch, his hips rolling to slide himself along the demon's shaft, "Wasn't last time enough for you?!"

"No...It actually made me crave for more." he growled, pushing himself deeper before starting to thrust in slow, hard movements. Black nails dug into Grell's hip as he steadied him while the demon moved his hips, lifting his gaze back up to the Reaper's face as he pleaded for him to stop, but leaned in to reconnect the rough kiss once more, his pace quickening gradually.

Grell clung desperately to the spider, his lips unwillingly hungry for more as they moved against the demon's lips, small sighs and groans escaping into his mouth. He tightened one leg around the demon's waist and lifted the other to join it's clingy twin. His tears the only clue to his silent protests.

Quiet grunts and groans broke through between the kiss as his movements became more frantic, pounding hard into the Reaper's tortured body.

Red painted nails bit into Claude's back as the reaper felt himself approaching climax. Which should have let him know that the nightmare was almost over; that he could possibly escape the web holding him as the spider's prey. But he knew not to hope. The demon would be done when he was done, not when the reaper was. After all; if Claude cared even the slightest of Grell's feelings, then this wouldn't be happening. No, Grell would still be home cooking a meal to share with William….

He could feel it, the Reaper's body slowly tightening around him to signal that he was nearing his release...but the demon wasn't. Not even close. "You have become rather…ngh…quiet..." he muttered, a sinister smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. With one quick movement, he rammed himself hard into Grell and lowered his hand down to grip the twitching length tight, pressing and holding in the right spot to block his climax as he leaned in to brush his lips along the red-head's ear. "Let's have you speak again...how about my name..?"

Grell gasped, barely able to stand the overwhelming sensations of pain, pleasure, and restrictions. "I-ah-d-don' e-even…know….Nnnnh! Y-you!" he lied. True the demon had looked familiar the first night he had used Grell…but he hadn't known the demon's name until William had said it… so maybe, just maybe, if he played stupid the demon would drop the demand.

The spider tightened his grip on him, nipping harder at his ear. "You know me enough to say my given name…Reapers are cunning like that..." he murmured, sliding his tongue slowly along his ear before dipping it inside, his movements becoming more erratic.

"A-AHH! Please! N-no more!" Grell cried out, digging his nails deeper into the demon's shoulders as he pulled him closer.

His body was reaching the limit, he could feel it even as his shoved himself in deeper and harder, grip remaining tight around the Reaper's throbbing shaft. "Say it." he growled, stroking him slowly to torture him further.

The redhead grit his teeth, panting frantically as he longed for release, "…Claude…" he muttered barely above a whisper.

"Louder~" He bit harder at his ear, his fingers relaxing around him ever so slightly while stroking him.

"D-devil…" Grell hissed, never relaxing his legs or arms as he clung to the spider, "Ahn!" his hips rocked into Claude's hand, begging for release as his sweet spot was abused deep within him. Finally he couldn't handle anymore and he gave in, "Clau-de~!" he cried out, his voice cracking at the end.

Claude growled as his name was nearly sung, loosening his fingers to give him his deserved release while stroking him further along, feeling both of their bodies reaching their peaks and him surpassing his as he spilled out into the other. Groaning, the demon slowed his movements as he emptied, his body relaxing once more.

"Gnhhhhah~" the reaper cried out as he was finally granted release. Immediately coating their stomachs with evidence of his climax. His body trembled violently before going limp, his arms and legs falling from around the demon, the fact that he was still pinned between the spider and the rough wall keeping him up. He let out a pathetic whimper and began to sob at the returning thoughts of William, and how he not only couldn't stop what had just happened, but in body, he had craved it…

The demon had closed his eyes as the wave of pleasure passed, opening them again to look at the Reaper when hearing him beginning to sob. He smirked and brought his hand up to caress his cheek, tilting his head up while leaning down to kiss him deeply momentarily. "See what fun a little 'bondage' lends?"

"This…this isn't bondage…Bondage is fun…this…this is just plain cruel…" the reaper sobbed, "Pl-please let me go…"

"So you can run back to your half-lover and cry to him about the big, bad demon playing with you?" he chortled, slipping himself out but continuing to lean up against him. "I _will_ call you back another night, Reaper Sutcliff…"

"Will's not my half-lover!" Grell cried, "And stop thinking I am acting willingly as yours! If…If you want a girlfriend this is not how you woo her! You should really work on your flirting skills." Grell snapped back through his tears.

A dark, thin eyebrow twitched before Claude grabbed the other by his jaw to force him to stop talking, his eyes boring deep into the vivid green ones. "...I don't flirt. I take what I want. It should be obvious at this point. Now, if you are finished screeching at me like a howler monkey…you may leave." He lowered his hand again and stepped away, wiping himself clean before redressing again.

The reaper sank down along the wall adverting his eyes, "Well maybe someone you want would actually like you and willingly give you what you want if you didn't just take…it's not like you aren't attractive…idiot." He muttered, locating his articles of clothing.

He paused at cleaning his glasses, smirking over at him. "Careful of your words, I may find reason to take you for another ride tonight." he teased darkly, slipping his specs back on again. "And it is who I am…nothing more and nothing less. I'm a sly devil that way, you see…"

Finding nothing to throw, Grell grabbed his pocketwatch that had fallen from his pants pocket and chucked at the demon, "You just wait until I break free! Then you will be everything less!"

The demon didn't budge an inch even as the watch collided with his head. Instead, his gaze looked back over at the Reaper, slipping off his glove that hid the strings that bound Grell and bit at one painfully, drawing blood.

The reaper cried out as he felt a deep stabbing sensation on the back of his neck, a drop of blood rolling down it, mixing with his hair. "...What the hell did you actually do to me?!" he demanded.

"I marked you." he replied simply, licking off the blood as the wound healed over, yet continued to nip and lick at the small webbing on his fingers with a smirk.

"Stop!" Grell writhed, clutching the back of his neck, then with a pained snarl, he pushed himself up and only half-redressed, launched himself at the demon, tackling him to the ground.

Claude blinked in surprise, managing to grab a fistful of hair as he was tackled down. How did he manage to pull from the chain that leashed him?! He must have loosened it accidentally. The demon growled and rolled over to pin Grell down roughly, pulling his hair taut to force his head back.

"G'off me!" the redhead hissed, reaching back to hold his hair to try and ease the pull, the mark on his neck throbbing, but no longer causing the sharp pains that Claude had been delivering to him through the strange mark.

Claude narrowed his eyes at the other, their gold tone switching quickly to a shimmering red as he reached around to press his marked fingers to the 'collar' on Grell's neck, tightening the leash to the point of throttling him. "That is _ENOUGH_ out of you."

A strangled cry forced it's way from Grell's lips, and his body relaxed limply under Claude.

"There's a good girl." he purred, the irritated shimmer fading back into gold as he leaned over him. "Isn't that better?"

"….for you maybe…" Grell muttered, wishing he had just left rather than giving in to his temper.

"For both." He patting his cheek then rose to his feet again, dragging the Reaper to his own by the mark on his neck. "Now, unless you wish for me to pleasure you again, I suggest you leave instead of letting your temper control you over me…"

He adverted his eyes, weakly walking over to where the rest of his clothes were in a heap on the floor and picking them up, pulling them on quickly. "…what way to the door?" he reluctantly asked as he busied himself with his waistcoat buttons.

He pointed up the stairs. "Follow the hall down your right once you reach the top. The doors will be to your left."

Grell nodded and hurried up to the doors, wasting no time in heading home again.

The weakened and leashed redhead's pace slowed as he approached the door to his apartment, hoping it was unlocked as he did not have his key with him. He reached out and turned the brass handle, sighing in relief as the door swung open, but freezing when he spotted William's shoes sitting neatly next to the coat rack.

Will was sitting in bed with his book when he heard the door open, hearing Grell's sigh a split second afterwards. The Reaper had been home, he knew that much since he had come home later that evening to find dinner had been started, but never finished. He sighed, marking his place and setting his book aside before getting to his feet and opening the door to meet the red-head in the living room, but a strong scent made him freeze: demon. He was with that demon _again_?! His expression turned sour as he continued to head out into the front room, looking none too pleased.

Grell looked up as he looked up to see his angry lover walking out of their bedroom. He shifted uncomfortably under the look, not quite sure what it could be for… paperwork? Had Grell forgotten something important at work before he left? This was not what he wanted to come home to… he wanted to scrub the demon's touch away…wait…he had just come from the Trancy manor…he still had the demon's scent on him…and of course it'd be strong after what had happened. Tears still clinging to the corner of his eyes, Grell took a step back, putting his hands up, "I-it's not what you think, Will!" he insisted before the angry reaper could say anything.

"Then WHAT, Grell? What _should_ I think?" Will growled impatiently, stepping closer to his frightened lover. "Once was enough...but _twice_..."

"The spider…he—" Just as Grell was about to tell his lover everything, his tongue locked and a sharp pain shot through him from the back of his neck, stopping him from saying anything more about the truth.

"Why can't you just trust me, William?" he cried, "You always expect the worst of me! Can't you just—just hold me?"

"What else can I expect that you used to chase that crow?!" he growled, narrowing his eyes. "But now you've been with the Trancy's pet…I just…don't understand you, Grell…why have you been doing this?"

"I haven't been doing anything! I _can't_ do anything! That's the point!" Grell said weakly, exhausted, and not wanting to fight. He adverted his eyes, "…forget it… if you are kicking me to the couch tell me now…I need a bath…"

Will crinkled his nose and stepped back. "…Go bathe…the stench is over-powering.."

Grell grit his teeth and turned away as fresh tears welled up in his eyes again. "…You can be too heartless and cold sometimes you know…" he muttered before slamming the bathroom door shut, cracking the wooden frame.

Grell bathed quickly, scrubbing his skin raw again and wrapping himself in a towel before walking into the bedroom, ignoring his lover as he pulled on his night gown. He walked over to the bed and in a show of anger, he grabbed one of the pillows William was using to prop himself up, yanking it out from behind him and turning on his heel to curl up on the couch, for the second time, wondering why he was even with the cold workaholic…

The Reaper grunted as his back hit the headboard, shooting a glare towards Grell then sighing, not bothering with the other pillow but instead got up and walked back out to where Grell was curled on the couch. He sat on the arm at Grell's feet, adjusting his glasses. "..I never said I don't trust you, Grell…but for you to come home with such a scent…a mark, even…what should I think? I would understand if the first time was against your will, but a second time, Grell...I only wish to know why."

"Why would you think I'd willingly go back to my rapist? I'd…I had plans for us tonight once you got out of work…I was even making your favorite meal…" The redhead muttered, hugging the pillow to his body and hiding his face in it so his words were muffled.

"I saw...but why did you leave?"

"I didn't…"

He sighed. Now this was getting ridiculous. "You just came home…obviously you left before..."

Grell shook his head, "I know it makes no sense…but it's true…I can't…explain it…"

"You will have to explain it for me to understand, Grell…"

"I can't Will! I _can't_! Literally! I want to but I can't. You…just have to trust me…" Grell curled up into the pillow more, "And maybe squish a spider…" he muttered.

Will shook his head, getting up and walking around to sit beside his lover's head and run his fingers through his damp hair. "I do trust you, Grell…I trust that you can tell me somehow what's going on…if he's threatening you or has done something to you to keep you from talking, I trust you will find some way to let me know..."

Grell bit his lip, looking up at his lover and tilting his head into his touch. And then an idea came to him…and it just may work if Will continued to stroke his hair…The so-called 'collar' was on the back of his neck…that's where all the pain came from…and where Claude kept touching him…so what if there was a physical mark there?

The redhead shifted, letting go of the pillow and letting it fall to the floor as he rolled onto his stomach, wrapping his arms around William's waist and pulling himself up to rest his head in his lap, hoping William's habit of playing with Grell's hair would revile the truth…if his theory was correct.

William instantly buried his fingers into the long red locks that he loved, knowing it also helped calm the other during moments of stress. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to his head, fingers lingering down at where his hairline met the back of his neck, something odd brushing along his fingers. He frowned slightly and lowered his fingers further, feeling some strange form of bumps on the back of his lover's neck that were never there before. _'Good girl..._ ' he thought, brushing his hair aside to see the faded yet prominent scar-like lines that made up a crude spider's web, seemingly pulsing. He had seen something like this before on a few human victims he took care of, and after doing enough research along with his team, he found that it was a method for a demon to latch on to their chosen victim, even if at a distance. "...I can barely tolerate when a demon does such a thing…but to do it on a Reaper…on _you_..." he whispered, the anger in his tone growing gradually.

Grell took a shaky breath, "…I didn't even know he did such a thing…till today…" he whispered, curling his fingers into his lover's night shirt.

He nodded and hugged his lover's head to him, sighing. "…Then let me help, my love…I want to break this chain before he tugs you away from me..."

"Don't leave me, Will…I don't want to be left alone…" Grell admitted in a hoarse whisper. "I need you…" He shifted again, sliding himself up to lean against his lover's chest, "Don't let him make me leave you…I can't…handle his touch again…I just can't!"

"I'm not going anywhere, mon amour." he whispered, hugging him closer, "And like hell I will let him lay another finger on you…"

"…Good…" the redhead choked out, "Then…I'm working in your office tomorrow…and until you squish him…"

* * *

**To be continued...**


	3. Chapter 3

Grell sighed and curled his legs up under him as he sat on the small sofa in William's office, his paperwork sitting on the coffee table as he held a clipboard and used it as a make-shift desk, scratching his signature across each page. He had a long boring day without any collections, but for once he preferred it that way. After discovering what Claude had done to him, the red reaper had become paranoid about being alone, and he only left his lover's side when he absolutely had to. Having to go out to reap souls meant he had to be out around London alone, and the idea of such a task was terrifying.

He felt as if he had become absolutely pathetic. Being so needy and overly clingy to William…more-so than he already had been...he even caught himself jumping when he saw a stray spider sitting in a web, when he had never been bothered by the small arachnids before. But he tried not to think on it. William was being understanding of his newly developed quirks and while he still insisted on acting professional at the office, he didn't react violently when the redhead had an episode of paranoia.

All the while that Grell did his work, William finished up his own in silence. He knew he had to stay with Grell until they figured out a way to free his lover from the demon's grasp, and so he did. No matter what. Even if he had to go out on a reap, he had Grell remain under watchful care of either Alan or one of the more tolerable secretaries until he returned. Will sighed as he finished up his final form and filed it away, setting his pen down before looking over at the red-head on the couch. "Do you want anything to drink, love? You barely had any breakfast this morning…" he offered, pushing up his glasses as he got to his feet to walk over and sit beside him.

The red-head looked up from his work, frowning in thought. He wasn't all that thirsty, or hungry, but he knew he hadn't been eating enough. And he was sure that it was bound to make William worry…if he wasn't already. So he nodded, "Some tea would be nice…" he said, "…should I come with you to the break room?"

The Reaper looked down at his watch; judging the time of day, a normal butler would be at work. "…you should be fine, seeing as it is time for afternoon tea in the manors, so that demon will be too busy." He sighed, adjusting his glasses again. Inwardly, he was too nervous to leave Grell alone, fearing that when he came back his lover would have been tugged away and violated once more...but the room was less than a half-minute's walk away, so he would return in little under two minutes. It wouldn't be long, but enough time to show that even when separated they both would be fine. "I'm right down the hall, so call if you need anything else, love…I'll be only a minute." he reassured him quietly, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead before getting to his feet to fetch them both tea.

Grell gave a nervous nod; "…be quick, darling." He nearly whispered as he watched William leave his office, the door swinging so that it was half closed. His green eyes darted around the tidy office, half expecting to see another spider watching him, but seeing nothing, he looked back down at his work and pressed his pen to the paper to fill in a few details before signing it and setting it aside in his pile of finished work.

Will strode quickly down the hall towards the break room, finding himself having to wait due to the lunch rush that had just started. He sighed and tapped his foot impatiently, hoping to not take much longer than he intended.

Little did the busy Reapers know, Alois Trancy had fallen ill with a fever, rendering him nearly unconscious for a good portion of the day. The butler of the blonde Earl stepped out into the hall after tucking him in and leaving him to rest, giving him the chance of freedom until the boy woke again for whatever reason. Claude walked down the carpeted hall to the kitchen, dropping off the tray with the old dishes for one of the triplets to wash before walking out again into the garden, looking up at the clouded sky. "…What a dull day..." he muttered quietly, looking back down curiously to his gloved hand. He slipped off the white glove to show the brilliant contract seal on the back of his hand before turning it over so the smaller, less noticeable marks on his finger tips shown up at him. He smirked and teased at one with his tongue, knowing that somewhere, wherever his pet Reaper was, he could feel it.

Grell mindlessly looped the start of his signature across the bottom of the page, his hand slipping and drawing a thick black line across the page before his pen fell from his fingers onto the floor. With an audible gasp, he slapped his hand to the back of his neck, warm pleasurable chills racking down his body.

With wide eyes, he stumbled to his feet and started for the door, "W-William!"

Will had just stepped up to the front when he heard Grell, whipping around and nearly colliding with a couple others in line before darting from the room, heading back to Grell. He burst through the door to see Grell had met him there, reaching out for him. "What is it?"

The spider drew his tongue again over the mark, teasing more than one before nipping at it.

Grell shivered and grabbed a hold of his lover, his body already heating up, and his cheeks flushing as another, louder gasp was drawn from him. "I-it's happening again…" he choked out, "I can feel him…" he whispered, the room starting to feel like it was spinning. He squeezed his eyes shut and hid his face in the reaper's shoulder, the mark on the back of his neck starting to throb.

Will wrapped his arms tight around him, wanting to hopefully rip that mark from Grell's neck but knew it would do no good. All he could do was hold on...hold on and hope that it would be enough.

Grell's fingers tightened around William's suit jacket, wrinkling the sleeves slightly as he felt the fabric, and the body he was desperately clinging to start to fade, as if William was only a mirage, "No! No, don't let him take me again!" he cried, snapping his eyes open in time to see William's face disappear, and William's office replaced by a lavish garden. Now clinging to nothing, he fell forward, falling down and catching himself on the rough white stone slabs forming a path.

Will's eyes widened as he watched Grell slip away from his grasp, his hold on him tightening even until nothing was left, leaving him clutching at air. He blinked, frozen in shock for a full minute before darting over to snatch up his scythe and run from the building, making it his full intention to kill the beast once and for all.

Claude's sinister smile remained as he slipped his finger from his mouth, his pet appearing before him once more. He stepped forward and slipped his arm around his middle to draw him up against him, running his ungloved hand along Grell's arm to force it out and intertwine his fingers with the Reaper's. "I hope I did not steal you away from too much work." he purred, tilting his head to nip at the red-head's ear.

Grell swallowed down a moan and took in a shaky breath, "No you don't, you evil bastard…you obviously don't even care of your own responsibilities to your master forcing me here in the middle of the day like this…"

"My master is resting. He has fallen down with a fever, you see, and requires not of the persistent attention that he normally would crave while he is healthy." the spider replied, leaning down further to run his tongue over his neck before nipping hard, purposely leaving a dark mark. As he was about to continue his playing, however, the sound of a click and something rushing towards him from the side caught his attention, the item dashing by above his head and clipping down the flips in his hair. "…And you brought your own toy, I see…"

Grell's grim face lit up hearing the familiar clicking of his lover's scythe. "William!" his eyes followed the extended silver poll up to where William was perched above them on a lower branch of a tree. He tried to wiggle out of Claude's grasp, but his body only half listened to the wanted movement, succeeding only in wiggling against the demon's form.

Will retracted his scythe slightly before thrusting it at the demon again, hoping this time to not miss. "You _will_ take your filthy hands off him!" he growled out, completely livid.

Claude tightened his grip on his pet and jumped back with him, pressing his fingers to the back of Grell's neck to tighten the hold he had on him. "If you wish to play, then I shall oblige." He drew his fingers back, thin silk shimmering for a split second before diving deep into the mark he had left on Grell, forcing him to connect completely with the Reaper's mind and willing him to move, treating him thoroughly as his doll.

Grell cried out as the spider's silk connected with him, a split second later, the light in his eyes dimming as his body stood stiffly still, his consciousness only vaguely aware of everything around him. He took a few rigid steps forward out of Claude's arms, and then found himself charging at William, his hand reaching out and grabbing hold of the poll of the reaper's scythe, giving it a hard yank to try and disarm him.

Will's grasp on his scythe tightened and he held on, staring in shock at Grell. "Grell! What are you doing? Snap out of it...!" he cried out, retracting it in hopes to pull Grell closer and free him from the spider's hold.

Grell didn't respond; his face void of emotion, his eyes dead as they seemed to stare past his lover, his own grasp tightening on William's scythe, letting it pull him closer to the reaper, his free hand closing into a fist and swinging at William as soon as he was in range. His knuckles connected with his lover's cheek, forcing his head to the side.

"So I figure that you are the very same lover who forced him into this sticky mess in the first place, hm? You do realize that one simple night you upset him, he came stumbling into my web…" Claude teased from where he stood, hand still raised to keep Grell in his control.

Will held on even as he was punched, refusing to drop his scythe as his lover attacked him. He forced him back off his scythe and shifted back, quickly adjusting his glasses. "Grell…" He grit his teeth and extended his scythe out past Grell quickly and towards the spider again, attempting to at least break the contact.

Grell moved quickly, leaping into the air and coming down, driving the attacking scythe down into the ground with his feet. He knew what his body was doing, he knew he was being forced to betray William more by fighting him…and he couldn't even form words. But tears he could, silently letting small clear beads of moisture gather and drip down, begging William to forgive him.

Will was too focused on attacking the spider that the moment Grell dropped on his scythe, it snapped down from his hand and to the ground with his lover still on it. He looked up quickly at the red-head, seeing those faint tears that showed that he was still in there somewhere, but how he could free him he was still unsure of. He frowned and lunged at him to tackle him down out of the way and off his scythe.

The red-head made no move to avoid the attack, falling over and hitting the ground hard as his lover tackled him, causing them both to slide across the dirt, his hands flying up to grip William's neck tightly.

Gasping, William's hands flew up to pry the other's hands from his throat and pin them down, quickly reaching around behind to the back of his neck to attempt to claw at the demon's mark. He had to free him...he wasn't about to lose him to this rotten spider!

A painful shock of demonic energy shot through Grell's body and into William's fingers, a pained scream making its self known from the red-head's lips, his body flailing, kicking, and clawing to get away from William.

Will flinched and tore his hand away, shoving himself off of Grell to scramble back onto his feet, glaring over at the demon controlling his lover. "RELEASE HIM, DEMON!"

"Why? So you can break his shattered heart all over again? I would prefer him to have what little soul he has left to control. He certainly is good for a bit of fun." Claude smirked, twitching his fingers to force Grell back onto his feet, "I'd rather be the one to break him completely."

Like a marionette in the hands of a master puppeteer, Grell rolled over, grabbing William's scythe as he picked himself up, thrusting the blade at his lover, cutting slightly into the back of William's shoulder, his hand shaking slightly as he attempted with all his might to stop the action.

The Reaper hissed in pain, grabbing at his shoulder as he began to run towards Claude, taking his chance at the demon by lunging at him. Hoping it was enough to distract him long enough, he could break Grell from his trap; fighting for his scythe would do no good, especially fighting Grell.

The red-head took chase, extending the scythe at the usually calm and collected reaper, aiming to embed the weapon into his back, but as luck would have it, a root caught his foot and the scythe changed coarse as he stumbled, diving down and clipping the back of William's ankle and extending more to trip his other foot.

"Gah!" Will felt the pole catch on his foot a second too late, sending him hurtling to the ground just short of Claude. He grimaced as he pushed himself up, glaring daggers at the demon above him.

Claude looked down dully at the reaper at his feet, bringing his foot up to send a sharp kick down at William's face, the crunch beneath his sole confirming a direct hit that had shattered the Reaper's glasses.

Grell approached his lover and his controller at a slow pace, scythe still in hand. Outwardly calm, but inwardly going mad at seeing his love under the foot of a demon; his all important glasses snapping and falling from his face.

A muffled yelp ripped out from Will as a couple shards forced themselves into his eye upon contact, blood running down his cheek not a moment later. Still he forced himself to shove the demon off and roll out from under him, pushing himself to his feet and looking between the demon and his captive lover, unsure which to go for first seeing as both posed a threat.

"Blind as a bat now, are we?" Claude teased, raising his hand up that had Grell to order him the final attack. "It's been fun, Reaper, but you have made your final mistake."

Grell's throat choked up as he was forced to raise the scythe and aim it at his lover again, his feet calmly walking him over to Claude's side. Tears blurred his vision as his fingers pulled the trigger, sending the open blades at William's chest.

Will's good eye widened and he brought his hand up just as the blades were extended, gripping the pole tight and stopping them short of his chest, feeling the steel digging into his shirt and threatening to pierce him. "...I… _refuse_ to give up on him…you disgusting…arachnid!"

The butler sighed impatiently and calmly walked around William as though circling his prey, lifting his gloved hand to clamp it around the Reaper's throat while leaning down to his ear, "...haven't you learned by now? I get what I want." He took a step back and shoved Will onto the opened blades, spearing him through on his own death scythe.

The force of William's body being forced onto the scythe, the bloodstained blades puncturing though his back, caused the scythe to drop from Grell's hand. Tearful green eyes widened in horror as he watched his lover fall. His invisible leash loosened slightly, the life returning to his eyes and his face distorting in pained shock, "W-William!" he choked out, trying to make his legs take him to his lover's side.

Will's mouth opened in a silent gasp, blood pooling in his mouth and dribbling out as he collapsed in a heap. He knew this feeling…felt it happen to him once before even as his own scythe released his Records, playing them for both him and Grell to see until the very last frame ended along with his last breath.

The demon smirked in victory, walking over to Grell to properly claim his prize as he wrapped his arms around the red-head's middle again to pull him close. "There now…nothing more to worry about."

Grell's body shook, his eyes never leaving the fallen reaper. His body went cold; barely able to feel Claude's hands on him, "…William…" he choked out after a long silence, "…you killed him…you…you killed…" Pain and anger took over and he turned to look at Claude, wanting to tear him apart, "You monster! How could you do that? I hate you! D-don't touch me!"

In his ranting, Grell managed a small swat of the demon's hand and, taking slow, shaky steps, he managed to force his way over to William's body, falling to his knees and reaching out to pull him into trembling arms, "Will…Will, Darling…please…I-I need you…come back…please…"

The demon frowned as he watched the red-head holding the corpse of his late lover, following him over to crouch beside him and run his hand over his shoulder, purposely brushing his fingers up along the side of his neck and over the emblem hidden beneath his hair. "...he's gone, my pet, and not to be a burden anymore."

"A-a burden to who? You? He—he was my lover! M-my heart! And you…you…" he choked on a sob, his sorrow and anger melding into a strange numb feeling. William was gone…he'd never come back…and he belonged to his lover's murderer…never to be freed. He was only an object now. A demon's play thing…his pet, and there was nothing he could do. His chance at freedom…to be happy…died with William. And even if he could let others know…Alan, Eric, Ronald….they would only end up like William…

The red-head slumped submissively against his demonic owner, giving up on fighting him. He just couldn't handle it anymore…the spider had more than trapped him…he was broken.

Claude chuckled darkly, running his fingers through the Reaper's hair. "There's a good girl…I assure you, I will take _good_ care of you, my pet…"

"…I'd rather you just kill me…" Grell muttered weakly, knowing the demon was too cruel to let him die. His tears dripped down, landing on William's cheeks, mixing with blood; and for once the red liquid disgusted him. It was no longer beautiful, as it stained his departed lover's face. Silently, Grell began to wipe away the blood, trying to clean it away, thoughts of the events leading up to this devastating moment flooding into his mind.

He froze his gloved hand still on William's blood-smeared cheek. It was his fault. All of it. If he hadn't insisted upon flirting with other men…with a demon like Sebastian…William would have never said such hurtful things; meaning Grell would never have run into a spider's web…and ultimately; William would never have been killed trying to free him from that web.

He was horrible. He had never deserved William…and there was no way he could face his friends and co workers…Ronald…Eric…Alan… If Grell could hurt the man he loved more than anything like this…what hurt would he cause his friends? No, he was a butterfly caught in a spider's web. There was no way out, and the only thing he could do was wait for the spider to end him…

With quivering fingers, the red-head removed his glasses and carefully slipped them on William's face before leaning over and pressing a final kiss to his cooling lips, "You'll need them…more than I…mon amour..."

Claude rolled his eyes slightly and clenched his hand into a fist, tugging the strings on the red-head taut to get his attention. "You have had your chance with him. Don't expect me to let you mourn for him now that you've lost him. Get up." he snapped, stepping over to him, his foot smacking into the side of Will's head, bumping it to the side and snapping the red frames that now sat upon his nose. He reached down, grabbing a fistful of red hair to drag Grell up onto his feet and away from William's body. "I will have him disposed of, so don't you worry...now as for _you_..." he growled as he held him close while dragging him back towards the manor, tightening his control on the Reaper to control him once more, leading him down into the cellar.

Grell sobbed, and reluctantly obeyed, his body following the demon awkwardly as he was pulled through the large maze of a home and down to the damp, dark cellar. His eyes darting about the large shadowy room, a lit torch expanding the light from the open door only slightly. He swallowed and allowed himself to look up at the spider with a questioning gaze.

"I can't have you alerting my master of your presense on his property, can I?" he smirked, grabbing Grell by his jaw and tilting his head up while he leaned down. "And you are going to be a good pet until I have no further use for you." He reached up and pulled down a lever hidden away by some bottles to open a door into a secret room, a makeshift bed with a chair inside. The spider then shoved Grell inside, a grin splitting in a manic manner. "Now be good until I return to you after I've finished my chores."

The red-head stumbled into the small, cramped room and turned to look at the demon. Normally he'd pitch a fit over how a real man should treat a lady; but he found he simply didn't care anylonger. His fate; it didn't matter at all. The demon could keep him as a 'pet' for thousands of years, or only a few months. He just didn't care. He lowered his gaze submissively and nodded, "...Yes, sir..."

"Good girl..." he sneered, closing the door once more, "I wonder if a Reaper's broiled body is consumable..." he murmured to himself, tapping up his glasses as he walked.

Grell collapsed onto the bed and curled up, holding himself, willing the numb feeling to take over completely as he awaited the return of his fate : the spider.

* * *

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

Ronald frowned, a bad feeling running down his spine and settling heavily in the pit of his stomach as he approached the Trancy Gardens along side Eric and two other reapers he barely knew. He had just gotten back to the office when he was approached by the group and asked if he had any more collections that day. Upon answering no, he was handed a file. One that was rarely seen at the dispatch, but always meant something horrible was going to happen. He himself had never seen such a file in person, but he knew what it was once he opened it.

A to-die list containing a single entry, void of a name, picture, or details on the death. Only a location typed neatly across a single line, the rest to be filled out later. Such a file was always handed off to a group of reapers, rather than one, as normally, a demon was involved, sometimes more than one...

A fellow reaper was about to die.

And, only two reapers were unaccounted for...Grell Sutcliff, and William Spears. Both reapers he was fairly close to. For the first time since the first soul he harvested as a student, he was nervous, the idea of death scaring him...feeling more like a killer than a collector. Though he knew he wasn't going to be the one to kill Grell or William. And there was always the chance that Will or Grell had been killed by a scythe, so his soul would already be safely collected once more...and this would be more of an investigation.

He gripped the handle of his scythe and glanced up at Eric, knowing the man was probably having similar thoughts. At least about Grell...They were like siblings after all, and Grell had already been acting strangely as of late...

Eric finished reading over the file and glanced up at Ronald, grunting. In all honesty, he wasn't sure himself on what was going on, but to see Will's name popping up as a the possible death made him uneasy. Will was careful with his work, probably more so than any Reaper he had met so far, so to be killed on the job was frightening to him. And then there was Grell... Unlike William Grell was careless, and had a need for danger. He knew Grell all too well, and this could have finally been the danger that proved too much for him. He grit his teeth, He didn't know if he could handle finding Grell dead...over the years the redhead had grown close to him, like a little sister. As much as he hated the thought; Grell'd be the most likely to die between the two. He sighed and shouldered his saw, tucking the file away under his arm. "Guess we better go have a look, Knox..." he mumbled, feeling as uncomfortable about it as the look that Ronald was giving him.

The younger reaper nodded, following behind the three reapers into the garden. He couldn't bear to look at the file again. But as Eric had said to move out, he knew the deed had been done...and one of their friends was gone forever. Each step felt heavy as he trudged through the vast property, not caring as he trampled flowerbeds with his large scythe. Then he stopped short, spotting a bloody and broken body near a lilac bush...Bright red glasses near a broken face...but the glasses didn't belong to that face...William.

How? How could it be William? William was so careful... "Senpai..." he gasped, not believing his eyes.

Eric followed beside Ronald through the Trancy's property, his expression dropping at the sight of William's bloody body. "Goddamn it, boss.." He slowly made his way over, reaching down to carefully pick up the broken red glasses, now looking rather torn. "Grell...what've you been doin'..." he muttered, clenching them and looking up towards the manor. They were on demon territory still, so he knew that thing had something to do with it. He grit his teeth angrily before looking back at Will, kneeling down beside him to assess the damage. "...looks like his own scythe got him...can tell by th' wound..."

"Mister Spears' scythe is over here." One of the other reapers said, lifting the blood soaked scythe from the dirt, "The blood isn't demonic so it's likely reaper…so it supports the theory."

The other reaper nodded and jotted down a few notes about the scythe and the wound.

Ronald stared at Grell's glasses, "But…Grell-senpai is here too…he has to be…his glasses are…"

"That only means that whatever this is about, it's not over, if another one of our own is still missing…we need to make sure he doesn't show up in this file as well…loosing a man is hard, let alone two…and to loose our boss on top of it all…this is the worst…" the first reaper said, collapsing William's scythe and tucking it into an evidence bag.

Eric nodded grimly and handed the broken glasses over to one of the reapers that were collecting evidence. "I'll go have a chat with that demon inside the manor. Jus' make sure Will's taken care of, got it?" He looked at the other Reapers sternly before over to Ronald. "Knox, yer with me."

"Yes sir." Ronald nodded, grimly following the now senior reaper. With William gone, and Grell's black marks on his record, Eric would most likely be looked at to take over William's position...weather or not Eric took it was unknown to the blond. He hurried along, walking next to his best friend as they approached the manor.

Eric inwardly cringed at being called that by Ronald; the thought of possibly taking William's spot made him feel sick. He figured he'd always wind up making some stupid mistake first to get him fired or killed, not the other way around. He walked up to the manor, quickly making his way around the outskirts to check for any possible side entrances or traps before finding the cellar door chained together. With a single swipe of his blade, he cut open the chains and opened the door, silently leading Ronald down into the dark passage, his nose wrinkling at the over-whelming stench of demon. "Ugh...smells like a damned nest in 'ere..."

"No kidding..." Ronald shuddered, covering his nose with one hand and lifting his scythe over his shoulder with the other to prevent it from making noise as they made their way down into the dusty dark room under the estate. "Uhg, got enough spiders in here?!" he shuddered, flicking off a large spider that landed on his arm.

"I think I know what kind of demon we're dealin' with..." he grumbled, shaking a couple of spiders off his saw as he made his way through the dark until they saw some stairs heading upward. He started to head towards them, but stopped abruptly, holding out his hand to stop Ronald with him. "Wait!" He pointed his saw towards the doorway, a faint gleam catching his eye: a death trap. "Looks like the demon doesn' want anyone down 'ere...or t'leave..." He frowned, looking back at his partner before turning to look around the room again.

"Good eye, Senpai." Ronald said, "I woulda missed that for sure." He lowered his scythe slowly, letting it rest on the floor, not caring as it squashed a spider or two. "So...what do you think is down here so important to protect from anyone finding?"

"I dunno.." Eric turned and crunched his way through the path of the spiders, pausing only to look down when he noticed there seemed to be more and more coming. "Looks like we're gonna have company soon...these buggars are tryin' to swarm us for the big guy to chow down on." He looked around, quickening his search in hopes to find at least _something_ that would give them reason as to why the path was blocked. "Storage...wait..." He kicked a bunch of the spiders out of his way, noticing a few were disappearing through a slight gap in a hole beneath a wall nearby. "Knox! O'er here!"

"What is it?" he asked, squashing as many eight legged creatures as he could as he hurried over after grabbing a torch from the wall and lighting it so they could see better as they looked.

He shoved a few spiders out of the way. "Perfect hole in the wall...and it looks like it doesn' work like a wall should.." he pointed to the scuff marks that seemed to show that something swung open. He looked at Ronald knowingly before turning his attention back to the 'wall', moving his hands over it to look for a switch or latch that would loosen it. "Help me find somethin' t'open this thing..."

Ronald nodded and started to help look. After a moment, he found nothing, but the feeling of spiders on him was getting too much and he flailed, trying to get the arachnids off him, his elbow smacking into something metal near the steps, a glass bottle falling and shattering at his feet, wine spilling out over his white shoes. "ow!" he gasped, rubbing his tingling funny bone and reaching out to feel for what he hit, having dropped the torch in his moment of pain. Fingers blindly feathered over corked bottles until they found a metal leaver. "Senpai...I might have found something..." he said, giving the pole a yank, the hidden door swinging open.

Eric looked over at the sound of his friend's gasp of pain, but saw he had only lost his patience with the swarming spiders. He looked back at the door as it swung open, picking up the dropped torch to see what was hidden inside.

Flickering torch light filled the small room, reveling an old, rather un-sturdy looking chair covered in webs and dust, and an old bed with ratty, torn bedding, and a shivering redheaded reaper lying atop it. His eyes were open wide, tears soaking his cheeks, but unresponsive to the scraping sound the hidden door made.

Ronald looked into the room, his eyes going wide, "…Grell-senpai…?"

"Jesus Christ...Grell..." Once again, the torch fell with a clatter as Eric hurried over to the red-head, setting his saw on the chair before kneeling in front of Grell. "What's he done to you, Grell.. ?" he whispered, brushing his unkept hair out of his face. He carefully sat him up to look him over better, but knew they were short on time before the demon came to see what was going on. "Let's get you out of here..."

"Quickly." Ronald nodded, "You get Senpai, I'll clear us a path back to the doors outside.

Grell didn't respond at all until he felt himself being moved. Then his eyes seemed to focus and he looked at the blurred face of his coworker, "…No…what…what are you doing here? He'll only kill you too!" he cried, "Leave me! I'm…I'm not worth it!"

"So the bastard did killed Will…" Eric growled, then sighed and glanced over at Ron with a nod. "Be quick about it!" he urged, taking Grell's arm to hook it around his shoulder so to carefully pull him up onto his feet, reaching over to grab his saw. "An' like hell yer not worth it, Grell…don' ask me t' leave you here as demon food...'r whatever 'e was usin' ye fer..." Eric glanced at Grell, his obvious tone showing that he had no patience left to let another Reaper go, especially Grell…

"He'll just yank me back…like he always does…yanking me right out of William's…Will…" he began to shake, a painful lump forming in his throat.

"What are you even talking about, Senpai?" Ronald asked, using his scythe to clear a path in the swarms of countless spiders, leading them quickly up and out of the cellar.

Eric frowned, pulling Grell closer to him in a partial hug to help calm him. Something still wasn't right; if Grell was this nervous about being saved, the demon still had some kind of hold on him. "Well, t'wasn't like I was gonna let that bastard live 'nother day...if 'e's doin' somethin' to ya, then I'm gonna slice 'im t'pieces."

"I wish you luck with that." Claude's voice purred from near the cellar door. The spider glanced behind him at Ronald, sending a kick at him to force him up out of the cellar, the doors closing and sealing behind him. He then brought his hand up to weave another tangle of deadly web to block any other intruders. "Now if you don't mind…that belongs to me."

"Oi!" Ronald's shouts could be heard from outside, hitting at the door. He had lost his grip on his lawnmower, and was separated from it.

"No! Please! Don't hurt him, please!" Grell begged, "Don't make me hurt him…Please…" he paused, swallowing the rest of his pride, "Please, Claude…Let Eric go…let Ronnie go…I'll stay…I'll be good…"

Eric held his saw up defensively at the demon, glancing between Grell and Claude in slight confusion. What had he meant, 'don't make me hurt him'? Did the demon have more of an influence than he thought? He shook the thought away and carefully led Grell around the demon, wanting to hopefully make it to the cellar door.

"You should know better by now that your pleas fall on deaf ears, Sutcliff." Claude muttered dully, clenching his fist to tighten the hold on his pet. "They are a nuisance to this manor."

"Ah" Grell gasped, his body jerking back as he felt the now familiar throb of his leash tightening at the back of his neck, "No…please…not…not again…" he whispered, feeling control over his body fade away.

Eric looked back at Grell again when he felt him slowly regain strength, though apparently against his will. It was then that he realized that the demon was actually controlling him. In a quick decision, he slid Grell out of his hold and backed away towards the door, bumping into the lawnmower that had been left behind. "Ye bastard! Let Grell go outta yer ugly-ass web, ya filth!"

"Hm...that other Reaper said the very same thing before he was ran through by his own blade. Let's see if your kind can learn from your mistakes." he smirked, jerking his hand up to gain full control over Grell once more.

Again, the light in Grell's eyes dimmed and he became a puppet, slowly turning towards Eric. His face void of emotion other than the tears staining his dirty cheeks. He charged, weaponless, at his coworker, leaping into the air and aiming his pointed heel at the reaper's chest.

With nowhere to duck to, Erich reached up with his free hand and grabbed hold of Grell's ankle at the right time to force him down, bringing his elbow up to catch him sharply under the chin and knock him back. He then took that moment to kick-start Ron's mower and charged towards the demon holding Grell, both scythes at the ready.

Claude frowned at the attack and jumped back out of the way, but with the cellar's low ceiling he couldn't avoid as far as he wanted. He growled at the Reaper and aimed a few attacks at him, only to be blocked or avoided swiftly.

"Shit." Ronald cursed, hearing the hum of his scythe. He stood up and ran back to the gardens, determined to get help from the two collecting evidence and moving William's body.

Grell rounded the cellar, dull green eyes glowing almost demonically in the shadows before he pounced, grabbing onto Eric's neck from behind, one arm following Eric's out to his scythe to grab hold.

Claude drew out a few of his knives while the Reaper was held and aimed for the kill.

There was a glint of gold before Eric felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, but he had managed to move away from the others. He grunted and stomped on Grell's foot before bringing his held arm up to hit him square in the face. "Sorry..." he muttered, reaching back further to grab Grell and fling him at Claude, knocking them both off of their feet.

The spider stumbled back and shoved the red-head off of him, aiming another knife at the Reaper, but suddenly felt cold, jagged steel pressed to his neck. He glared to the side at Eric who had gotten in beside him, staying still.

Grell grunted and rolled across the rough floor, even while under the demon's full control, his body taking a bit before he could push himself up. But then his body froze in sync with Claude as he stopped moving, the blade of a scythe pressed against the spider's neck. Inwardly part of Grell begged Eric to kill the demon, to just slice through without thought. But then where would that leave him? A lonely life stretching on endlessly…could he handle it?

Eric glared angrily at the demon under his blade, his mind racing as he thought over any possibilities of killing this demon: would Grell be freed, or would something happen where he'd be trapped forever? What if the leash broke and killed Grell in the process? But what if it somehow reversed everything? "Never know 'til ya try…" he growled to himself, "Go back to hell, spider." And with that, he sliced his blade clean through the demon's neck, the scuttling noises of the spiders around him halting, before starting up again as all the arachnids fled, the traps around the manor falling as well as every bind and contract shattered.

Grell screamed, missing none of the excruciating pain as the mark slowly ripped out as a long glowing and bloody thread of spiders silk unraveled from it's web shape and pulled out of the skin in the back of his neck. The thread ripped through his flesh, causing him to bleed in the shape the mark and promising to scar later. The redhead dropped to his hands and knees weakly once it was over.

A scythe shot through the doors covered in web, and Ronald, followed by one of the other reapers burst into the dim room. The remaining reaper taking on the responsibility to get the evidence and fallen reaper's body back to Dispatch.

Eric gave a sharp kick to the demon's head, punting it hard against a wall before turning back to Grell, helping him slowly back up onto his feet. "…You all right..?" he asked quietly, carefully moving his hair aside when he noticed his collar being soaked in his blood and seeing where the 'leash' had ripped itself out.

Grell started to nod, but broke down half way through the motion, turning and clinging to the reaper and crying into his chest. The numb feeling wouldn't return…he could only feel his heart shattering, thoughts of his late lover plaguing his mind, "H-he's gone, Eric…! He's gone!"

Ronald and the other reaper stood awkwardly, "…We should get headed back…"

Eric blinked but wrapped his arms around him, sighing. "I know..." he whispered, stroking his hair as he held him, glancing over at the others and nodding to them, ushering them on ahead, "We'll catch up..."

"Don't be too long; senpai." Ronald said, turning to go and grabbing his scythe, "There still may be other demons around."

Eric nodded, realizing the demon scent still lingered strongly from the manor. He pulled away slightly to look down at Grell, "We should start headin' back...jus' to be safe and get you checked on...I had t'damage you a bit..." he muttered the last bit sheepishly; He knew Grell was used to getting beaten up, but hated it whenever someone actually touched his face. He lead the red-head slowly up out of the cellar with the rest, walking with them back safely to their own realm again.

"Doesn't matter…" The broken redhead muttered, letting Eric lead him back to their own realm and to the infirmary where the doctors ran some tests and bandaged him up.

Eric stayed with him the entire time, not wanting to leave him alone again at least until he was doing better after the ordeal the demon put on him. He sat in the chair in the infirmary, waiting patiently. "…ya still matter t'me n' the rest of the Dispatch, Grell…" he said quietly.

* * *

 

It took only a few days before Grell's injuries had been all healed, the only evidence of what had happened to him being the web-shaped scar on the back of his neck. But mentally, the doctors insisted he stay under their watch. The fire in his heart had gone out, his fiery temper cooling. And nothing mattered to him anymore…his looks, his pride, all of it was meaningless.

One day, two weeks after William's death, Ronald had gone to visit the redhead like he, Alan and Eric often did, only to find Grell had gotten his hands on a training scythe and was holding it to his own neck. The blond had run forward, yanking it away and helped to bandage the cut left on his throat. After that, Grell had been forced into months of therapy before he was permitted to return to work.

The morning he was to return, Grell slipped out of the shower, looking at his reflection in the foggy mirror before reaching for his scissors and grabbing a chunk of his hair.

The redhead walked into the Dispatch building dressed in a plain black suit; William's. His hair short and slicked back. He wore his glasses without a chain, and he walked over to the Scythe department's front desk, slipping them a request form to switch scythes, no longer passionate about his own custom scythe, no, he would use William's. He moved emotionless through the halls on his way to his office, never once cracking a smile.

Eric walked out of his own office to get some coffee, nearly colliding with a Reaper. "Nn, sorr-" He stopped and blinked, realizing that the Reaper was the very same redhead he visited the night before. "…Grell...? You...cut your hair…" he said, obviously shocked. To add to that, he had never seen Grell dressed so professional since he was back in the Academy…even then, he never slicked his hair back. He sighed, looking at him sadly. "…The slicked style isn't really you, lass…" he smiled weakly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the break room. "You wanna join me fer some coffee 'fore you start?"

"…It…makes me feel closer to Will…" He muttered, nodding as he turned to follow Eric to the break room, "I…I miss him…" he said, trying to keep calm, to not let tears fall again. Tears seemed the only emotion he had left to express.

The older reaper looked over at him sadly, nodding with a sigh. "I know, Grell…I miss 'im too. We all do…but y'know that since he technically was 'reaped', his soul's got 'nother chance. He'll come back…prob'bly human though…" He faded off, unsure if what he was saying was really helping or not.

"And he won't remember me…" he muttered, grabbing a mug, "But maybe…he'd be better off that way…"

"…You can't keep blamin' yourself for his death…y'know it was the demon..." he tried to reassure him, grabbing a mug for himself and turning to the other, "I saw it m'self what he did to you, and none of it was yer fault..."

"But it was _all_ my fault, Eric, Every bit of it. I stumbled into his web…I flirted with other men and made Will feel he wasn't enough…and when he tried to tell me so, I ran into the spider's web…and got him killed when he tried to free me. And I couldn't stop it…I…I was holding his scythe when he was killed by it. I killed him in more ways than I care to count. And…if I can't follow him out of this life…then I'll let myself drown in it." He said filling his mug and walking to the door, looking back at Eric; "Don't worry. I won't try to kill myself again."

"But yer still killing yourself on the inside, Grell…we jus' want to see you smile again...maybe not now, but…eventually would be nice…" He replied, watching him over by the door. "Even if it's a day at a time…like if ya want to join us, me, Al 'n Ron are going out after work later...help ease yer mind a bit jus' tryin' t'have a good time…"

"…I'm sorry…I think…I'm already dead on the inside…" Grell muttered, looking down at his coffee, "…But I know the three of you won't believe it…and will try to make me come with you, even if I say no…so…maybe. If I finish my paperwork."

He nodded in agreement, figuring that would be the case. "Well, even if it's one thing or th' other, I'm not leavin' ya alone." He smiled, "If ya got too much work, I'll stay t'help...then we'll go out afterwards, alright?"

Grell paused, and then nodded, "You're such an annoying big brother when you want to be. Alright. I'll see you when the shift ends, I guess." He turned and walked down the hall to his office.

* * *

**-End-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this ending was a bit rushed, but I was unable to smooth it out more without making it 5 chapters long and I think the 5th chapter would have been a boring read so I opted to keep it only 4 chapters. But thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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